Norland buys ultrasound densitometer

Competition may heat up soon in the developing ultrasound bone densitometry market. Bone densitometry vendor Norland has acquired rights to distribute worldwide all existing and future ultrasound bone measurement systems developed by Canadian vendor IMRO.

The device developed by IMRO provides ultrasound bone measurement at the heel and will be sold by Norland as Paris. The bone department of McGill University in Toronto has selected the IMRO device to be used exclusively in an ongoing clinical study, according to White Plains, NY-based Norland.

Norland expects to begin marketing Paris shortly in Europe, Latin America, and the Pacific Rim, and an application for Food and Drug Administration 510(k) clearance should be filed by the end of the year, according to the company.

In other Norland news, shareholders have approved its acquisition of Norland Corp., the Ft. Atkinson, WI-based company that manufactures the DEXA (dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry) scanners that Norland distributes (SCAN 3/19/97).